Aquaculture

Two new Oyster Farms could sprout up in Little Bay next year. If approved, it would make ten farms in operation in the estuary.

The max size for an oyster farm in New Hampshire is four acres, but the two proposed farms are both considerably smaller. One, from a UNH Masters student would be 2.5 acres, and the other would be just an acre in size.

Oyster farming in the Great Bay Estuary is in the midst of a little bit of a boom. In recent years, the number of oyster farms has leapt from 1 to 8, with more on the way. These gains are boosting the hopes that using these filter feeders as an “outside-the-pipes” way to clean up the waters of the Great Bay could become a reality.